Any other vendor is going to have to offer something pretty unique in order to unseat Qualcomm from this position. They are definitely the safe choice in this arena, so unless there is a clear advantage to another product I would expect that most will stick with the Q.

Another question is whether or not leadership in this space will translate to other design wins. Success in smartphones doesn't automatically carry over to tablets, TVs, or even watches. That is going to be far from the home court advantage that Qualcomm enjoys in smartphones.

In conjunction with unveiling of EE Times’ Silicon 60 list, journalist & Silicon 60 researcher Peter Clarke hosts a conversation on startups in the electronics industry. One of Silicon Valley's great contributions to the world has been the demonstration of how the application of entrepreneurship and venture capital to electronics and semiconductor hardware can create wealth with developments in semiconductors, displays, design automation, MEMS and across the breadth of hardware developments. But in recent years concerns have been raised that traditional venture capital has turned its back on hardware-related startups in favor of software and Internet applications and services. Panelists from incubators join Peter Clarke in debate.